Holddowns for lasting machines



A ril 25, 1961 A. J. GILBRIDE HOLDDOWNS FOR LASTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 20, 1959 Inventor Andrew rIGz/Zmzde By his Affor'ney Patented Apr. 25, 1961 HOLDDOWNS FOR LASTING MACHINES Andrew J. Gilbride, Swampscott, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 835,037

6 Claims. (Cl. 1214.2)

This invention relates to lasting machines, and is particularly concerned with the provision of a novel and improved holddown operating mechanism for use in machines for lasting the toe ends of shoes. While the improved holddown operating mechanism is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the so-called bed laster type, such, for example, as is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,018,477, granted February 7 27, 1912, on an application filed in the name of Matthias Brock, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to use in a machine of that particular type or to the exact mechanical construction shown.

When used for the lasting of the toes of welt shoes, bed lasting machines are usually provided with holddown members adapted to engage the bottom of the insole adjacent to the toe end of the shoe being lasted for clamping the toe end of the shoe against a support, suchas a toe rest, and also for providing a support for the rib of the insole against inward pressure thereagainst applied by the wipers. A common type of holddown member is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,188,403, granted June 27, 1916, on an application filed in the name of Louis M. Brown. As is explained in the patent to Brown, the holddown member is mounted on a post for manual swinging movement from a remote and idle position to an operative position over the toe end of the shoe, and this post is thereafter adapted to be movedvertically, by a treadle-operated mechanism described more particularly in United States Letters Patent No. 1,120,822, granted December 15, 1914, on

an application filed in the name of Eugene L. Keyes,

to force the holddown member against the bottom of the shoe. provide a novel and improved mechanism for operating a holddown member of the aforementioned type which, while relieving the operator of the effort previously required for actuating the treadle, assures that the hold- Itis a principal object of this invention to down member will be forced firmly against the shoe and at the same time substantially avoids all danger of injury to the operator.

' With the foregoing object in view, the herein illustrated machine, which has a pair of toe wipers, a toe rest for supporting the toe end of a shoe, and a holddown member mounted for manual movementfrom an idle position offset vertically and laterally fromthe toe 'end of a shoe on the support to an operative position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe, is provided with power operated means for thereafter forcing the holddown member firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe on the support. More particularly, the holddown member is mounted for'manual movement by one hand of the operator from its remote and idle position to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe the holddown on the bottom of the insole and against the insole rib, while fluid pressure operated means are 2 provided for moving the holddown vertically to force it against the insole, together with means operable by the other hand of the operator for controlling the fluid pressure operated means.

The above and other objects and features of the in vention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the claims. I a

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a toe lasting machine provided with a power operated holddown mechanism embodying features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation of the holddown member in position on the toe end of a shoe in the machine, prior to actuation of the power operated means to force the holddown against the bottom of the shoe;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the machine with the holddown member in position on the toe end of the shoe after actuation of the power operated means; and

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of the holddown member after the power operated means has been actuated.

Referring to the drawings, the improved holddown mechanism is herein illustrated as applied to a me lasting machine of the so-called bed lasting type such, for example, as is disclosed in the Brock patent referred to above, having a wiper head 10 carrying toe lasting wipers 12, 12, Fig. 3, and associated with a frame construction a portion of which is shown in Fig. 1 and identified by the reference character 14. Also associated with the frame of the machine is a toe rest 16 which provides a support for the toe end of a shoe being lasted, herein shown as comprising an upper U, an insole I, having a rib R, assembled on a last L. As is usual in machines of the above-mentioned type, a treadle, not shown, is provided for moving the wiper head 10 in directions extending heightwise of a shoe being lasted, together with a hand lever, not shown, for advancing and closing the wipers 12, 12' to the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 3. In addition to the support which is provided for the toe end of the shoe by the toe rest 16, the shoe'is mounted on a jack-post, not shown, which is adapted to swing the toe end of the shoe downwardly and into engagement with the toe rest in a manner explained in detail in the above-mentioned patent to, Brock. To augment this clamping action, a holddown is arranged to be forced firmly against the insole at the toe end of the shoe to clamp the shoe against the toe rest.

This holddown comprises a holddown plate 20 of a shape to conform substantially to the inside contour of the rib R of the insole I at the toe end of the shoe, Fig. 3. This plate is detachably secured to a finger 22 which ,is pivotally mounted, for swinging movement in the direction of the arrows, on a block 24, this block in turn being fastened -to a torsion bar 26 which passes through an arm 28, the arrangement so far described being generally like that disclosed in the patent to Brown identified above. Also secured to the arm 28 is an abutment member 30 having a serrated lower surface.

The arm 28 is slidably received within a groove 40, formed in a block 42, and is held in position within this groove by means of ,a plate 44 and screws 46, 46, a set- Screw 48 being provided for holding the arm in different positions of adjustment along this groove, Fig. 3. The block 42 is pivotally mounted by means of a trunnion pin 50 on theouter end of an arm 52 formed integrally with a hub portion 54.. Pivotal movement of the block 42 in either direction is limited by means of a pin 56 pressed into the block and projecting into a hole 58 in the arm 52 of a diameter larger than that of the pin. A coil spring 60, streched between a pin 62 on the arm 52 and a pin 64 on the block 42, tends: to swing this block,'the arm 28, and the, other parts which are carried thereby, in a clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 2 to a position in which the pin 56 engages the upper side of the hole 58.

The hub portion 54 is rotatably mounted upon the upper end of a post 70, Figs. 1 and 3, and is held against axial movement thereon by means of a pin 72 carried by the post and projecting outwardly through a circumferential slot 74 formed in the hub portion and having end faces 76 and 78. A coil spring 80 tends to swing the arm 52 in one direction from the; position shown in full lines, Fig. 3, to a position indicated by the broken lines in this figure, and as determined by the engagement of the end 3 of the slot 74 with the pin 72, while swinging movement of the arm in the opposite direction is limited by engagement of the end 76 of this slot with the pin 72.

Secured to a portion of the frame 14 by means of bolts 90, 90 is an elongated sleeve member 91 which is provided with a cylindrical bore 92 within which the post 70 is slidably mounted, a key 94 and keyway 96 being provided to prevent rotation of the post, Fig. 1. At its lower end the post 70 has a threaded portion of reduced diameter 98. Clamp-ed against the shoulder which is formed by the aforementioned reduced diameter portion and the body of the post 70, by means of a nut 100, is a piston 102 which is slidably received within a cylinder 104. This cylinder is secured at its upper end to the lower portion of the sleeve member 91 and is provided with a head 106 secured to its lower end by means of screws 108, 108. The threaded portion 98 of the post 70 projects through an aperture 110 in the head 106. Interposed between this head and the piston 102 is a compression spring 112- which yieldingly holds the post elevated to the position shown in Fig. 1 and as determined by a stop nut 114 which is threaded onto the lower portion 98 of the post 70, together with a locknut 116.

The sleeve member 91 is formed with a passageway 120, one end of which opens into the cylinder 104 above the piston 102 and to the other end of this passageway there is connected a conduit 122. This conduit leads to a valve member 130, Fig. 3, which is of a commercial type having two plungers 132, 134 and an operating lever 136, the arrangement being such that when the operating lever is depressed, conduit 122 will be connected to a source of air under pressure through the plunger 132 and a supply conduit 138, and upon release of this lever, the air under pressure will be trapped within the conduit 122 and cylinder 104. On the other hand, upon elevation of the operating lever 136, the conduit 122 and cylinder 104 will be connected to an exhaust port through the plunger 134.

In the use of the arrangement described above, the operator places a shoe on its last on the jack post of the lasting machine and then jacks the shoe in the usual manner, for example, as explained in the patent to Brock which is referred to above, thus causing the toe end of the shoe to be brought into engagement with the toe rest 16, see Figs. 1 and 4, the toe end of the shoe being centered with respect to the wipers 12, 12 by the operator immediately before and during this jacking operation. Next, the'operator takes hold of the holddown plate 20 and/or the arm 22 with his right hand and swings the arms 52, 28 substantially to the positions shown in Fig. 3 and, at the conclusion of this swinging movement, theoperator exerts a downward force on the holddown plate to bring it into contact with the toe end of the insole I. Now, the holddown plate may be moved forwardly into the recess formed by the upstanding rib R of the insole at the toe end of the insole, i.e.,-to the position shown in Fig. 3, such movement being possible by swinging move ments of the arms 22 and28, together with arm 52, in

a horizontalplane, see arrows on Fig. 3 While hold ing the holddown plate in this position with his right hand, the operator depresses the lever 136 of the valve 130 with his left hand, thus causing the post 70 to be moved downwardly by air under pressure admitted to the cylinder 104 above the piston 102, which compressed air is trapped in the cylinder upon release of the lever 136. As the post 70 is thus moved downwardly, the arm 28 will be swung in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, until the pin 56 engages the upper side of the hole 58, while the finger 22 will be swung also in a clockwise direction, Figs. 1 and 4, to the extent determined by the setting of the torsion bar 26, in the manner explained in the patent to Brown mentioned above. The toe end of the shoe will now be clamped firmly against the toe rest 16 during the operation of the wipers 12, 12 to wipe the upper materials upwardly around the toe end of the last and then inwardly against the insole rib, see Fig. 4. At the conclusion of the lasting operation, the holddown plate 20 may be re.- leased by an upward movement of the lever 136 to con? nect the cylinder 104 to exhaust. Now, the holddown member will be swung by spring to a retracted and idle position remote from the shoe, as indicated by the broken-line portion of the arm 52 in Fig. 3 of the drawmgs.

As will be apparent, with the novel and improved at.- rangement described above, the operation of the holddown is effected by power, thus entirely relieving the operator of the effort previously required and assuring a firm clamping of the shoe against the toe rest. However, the operator is still afforded the same freedom of movement of the holddown plate as before for positioning this plate in the pocket formed by the insole rib at the toe end of the insole prior to the operation of the valve lever 136. Moreover, inasmuch as the operator uses his right hand to position the holddown plate on the bottom of the shoe, and his left hand to operate the valve lever to admit air to the operating cylinder and thus effect downward movement of the post 70, there is little danger of injury to the operator by the holddown plate as it is forced firmly against the bottom of the shoe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure :by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

1. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and a support for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last, a holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insole to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe end of the shoe against said support, means for mounting said holddown for manual movement from an idle position, offset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe, and fluid pressure operated means for thereafter forcing vsaid holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against said support. 7

2. Ina machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and a support for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last, a holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insile to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe end of the shoe against said support, and means for mounting said holddown for manual movement from an idle position, offset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe and for movement lengthwise and widthwise of the shoe to locate the holddown on the bottom of the insole, and fluid pressure operated means for thereafter forcing said holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against the support. p

3. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and asupport for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last,

t a. holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insole to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe end of the shoe against said support, means for mounting said holddown for manual movement by one hand of an operator from an idle position, offset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe, power operated means for thereafter forcing said holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against said support, and means operable by the other hand of the operator for controlling said power operated means.

4. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and a support for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last, a

holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insole to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe end of the shoe againstsaid support, means for mounting said holddown for manual movement by one hand of an operator from an idle position, oifset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to

a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe and for movement lengthwise and widthwise of the shoe to locate the holddown on the bottom of the insole, power operated means for thereafter forcing said holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against said support, and means operable by the other hand of the operator for controlling said power operated means.

5. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and a support for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last, a holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insole to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe '6 end of the shoe against said support, means for mounting said holddown for manual movement by one hand of an operator from an idle position offset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe, fluid pressure operated means for thereafter forcing said holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against said support, and means operable by the other hand of the operator for eontrolling said fiuid pressure operated means.

6. In a machine for lasting the toe end of a shoe having toe wipers and a support for the toe end of a shoe comprising an upper and an insole assembled on a last, a holddown member for engaging the bottom of the insole to hold the insole on the last and to clamp the toe end of the shoe against said support, means for mounting said holddown member for manual movement by one hand of an operator from an idle position, offset vertically and laterally from the toe end of a shoe on the support, to a position in engagement with the bottom of the insole at the toe end of the shoe and for movement lengthwise and widthwise of the shoe to locate the holddown on the bottom of the insole, fluid pressure operated means for thereafter forcing said holddown firmly against the insole to clamp the shoe against said support, and means operable by the other hand of an operator for controlling said fluid pressure operated means.

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 

